Vehicle wash facilities are generally known to have dark and dirty environments, which can make them unattractive to customers and potential customers. This environment results, in part, from the fact that current rotary brush components typically employ a cylindrical central hub design that is densely populated with a plurality of washing elements such that the hub is not visible either at rest or during operation. This densely populated hub also serves to block a great deal of light to a vehicle occupant as the wash component approaches the vehicle during the vehicle wash process due to the large volume of the washing elements. This can result in a significant darkening of the vehicle interior and an unpleasant wash experience for the vehicle occupant. Combine this darkness with windshields and side windows that are often covered with soapy water and visibility for vehicle occupants within current vehicle wash facilities is generally very low.
Consequently, some wash owners have made an attempt to brighten this environment and enhance a user's wash experience though the use of lighted arches and signs, to create somewhat of a “carnival” feel. Many vehicle wash facilities also employ lights and lighted signs as a way to advertise extra wash services like tire shine, sealer wax, and triple foam as well as to drive traffic to and create more revenue for their vehicle wash facility. While these lighted arches and lighted signs may be effective in drawing consumer attention to the wash or these extra services they offer, the lighting is very selective and does little to improve the overall environment within the vehicle wash facility.
Additionally, these lighted arches and signs are generally provided outside of or at the entrance end of the vehicle wash system in order to try and attract potential customers to take advantage of the vehicle wash services or to provide a positive impression for customers before they enter the vehicle wash system. More recently, as discussed in Applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 8,819,887, lights have been incorporated into vehicle wash components that rotate as the components rotate. This configuration allows the lights to be more easily visible to consumers while their vehicle is being treated such that the vehicle wash experience is less dark and intimidating. However, lighting effects have not been used in or adjacent the exit end of the vehicle wash system, which is generally the area visible to other motorists passing by the vehicle wash facility. Typically, any lights in other areas of the wash facility cannot be readily seen by others driving by the facility. Thus, the exit end of current vehicle wash systems are still dark, noisy and relatively intimidating to both customers and potential customers. Moreover, any lights in other parts of the wash facility have only a limited effect on the marketing of wash services to vehicles passing thereby as they cannot be readily seen.
Another disadvantage of current vehicle wash configurations is that they share a largely similar, utilitarian appearance that makes it correspondingly difficult for wash owners to provide a distinctive or memorable service offering to their customers. Lighted arches and signs that are used in existing wash facilities do little to overcome this problem as any attempted branding created thereby is obstructed to vehicle occupants during the wash process, as discussed above. Moreover, while the lighted brushes in U.S. Pat. No. 8,819,887 provide significant improvements in this regard, the dark exit end, which is the last portion of the wash system encountered by vehicles, can negatively affect a user's wash experience.
It would thus be desirable to provide a vehicle wash component that addresses these issues.